Improvement in sleigh-knees



y@ 40mg P. H. CUMMINS.V

Sleigh-Knee. No. 216,156. Patented lune 3,1879..

Ziff

rqlm gd UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

PATRICK H. GUMMINS, OF AMSTERDAM, NEVVYORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN SLEI-CH-KNEES Specification forming part of Letters Patent'No. 2I6,156, dated J une 3, 1879; application filed December 20, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK H. GUMMINs, of Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sleigh-Knees; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

The' nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement ot' a malleableiron knee for sleighs, cutters, bob-sleighs, and hand-sleighs, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to makeand use the saine, I will now proceed to describe its' construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section; and Fig. 2, an end view, partly in section.

My improved sleigh-knee forms two diverging legs, A A, connected at a, and divergin g at the top,formin g a head, B, having inwardlyprojecting tlan ges b b,- and a suitable distance below these iianges is a plate, C, having an inwardl yproj ectin g arm d.

The knee is hollowed out or made rounding` on both sides, as shown at .T a', which makes it light and cheap. The knee is bracing in itself, each brace or leg being wider at the top, and running bracing as it grows narrower to the runner, thereby leaving no weak spot to bend or break between the beam and runner. This knee is attached to the runner by the two pins 'i i at the lower end or foot of the knee, said pins being intended to go clear-through the ruimer and be riveted on the under side. There is a lug, h, on one side of each pini on the under side of the foot of the knee, which lug is t0 draw into the grain ofthe timber of the runner, thereby strengthening the rivet and foot of the knee, making a much stronger and cheaper connection of the knee to the runner than by sawing or punching holes and putting in extra rivets.

The knee is connected to the beam D'by means ofthe flanges b and plate or cross-piece G, made solid to each half of the knee, con necting them together, and fttin g up close to the beam. This cross-piece G runs out from the inside of the knee suiiicient to form the arm d to receive a bolt, screw, or nail.

`The beam D is plowed out on the top edges in a halfdovetailcd shape, so that when the knee is slipped into place the part otl the kneee., the flanges b b-that comes over the top of the beam is driven down into this groove, thereby preventing the knee from spreading on the beam or slipping back and forth. It also prevents the bealn from splitting, and makes a substantial mortise and tenon on top of the knee and end of beam.

For large sleighs or cutters I use au additional brace, F, running from the knee at a toward the center of the beam.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The sleigh-knee herein described, formed with the diverging legs A A, hollowed out on both sides at m x, and provided at the foot with the pins i i and lugs IL h., substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The fianges b b and cross-piece C, at the upper end of the sleighknee, in combination with the grooved beam D, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aflix my signature in presence of two wltnesses.

PATRICK `HENRY CU'MMINS.

Witnesses HENRY MCNIEI., WILLIAM GREGG. 

